Oednance



'ORDNANCE Q I Filec1 eb. 9; 1942 ISShetS-fihet 2 v Ill/1114116 INVENTOR 50m) CTroflar & 7 BY Carl? Carmen, QM, W M Y Q I,-

ATTORNEYS Feb. 15, 1944. J. c. TROTTER ET AL ORDNANCE 3 Sheets-Sheet' 5 Filed Feb. 9, 1942 wig x V E x Mr @333 INVENTOR %Oh{1FCC'gY?HQY 8 BY 0x r zen. GWQQWM (2mm.

- ATTORNEYS united in articulated connection OFFIE I capsules mac. Williamsville, and Carl F. Oarlr N. 1., animal: to Bell Aircraft 'CorporationtBnihlmNY Application February '9, 19,42, Serial No. 429,985

- sio snm. (oi-ems) m invention relates to'erdiiailee. and-more particularly to means for feeding belts of'ammunition to'rapid fire guns. suchas machine guns'or'the like.

One or 'the objects of the vention is to provide an improved mechanism for the above described purpose which comprisesa sen-contained cartridge belt fje'ed assist mechanism adapted to bemounted'adiaeent a sun andas an accessory for propelling the ammunition belt inaccord with thegun feed requirements from the of a remotely emmunition'masazine, whereby the usual ammunition feeding" of them perse will'be relieved of forces necessary to elevate the ammunition belt and to accelerate its movement intothe gun mechanism. Another object of the invention is to'provide" .a mechanism of the ;character described which zis-o! improved adjustability so as to'be adapted to suit a-variety-oficartridxe belttraining arrangements. illnother object or the invention is to provide a devl'ceof the -character which is of improved structural iorm so-fasto be positive inaction andiof' structurally 2 through the threat IS. The toothed portions of;

simple and rugged form. Another object of-the invention is to provide a device ofsthe character described which is adapted to'start stop'in connection with intermittent gun feeding operations in an improvedmanner. Otherobjects and advantages of the invention will-appear from the specification hereinafter. I

lnthedrawings: r 1 ice; top plan'of a cartridge-belt feed ac- :cessory mechanism of theinvention; 1 Fig. 21s a section takensubstantially along line II-II of Fig, 1; a v Fig.8 isa section-taken along line III-4110f Fig;2;"and jfl f v" Fig. 4 is asection taken along-line 1v-1v or Fig. 2.

s g a self-contained tmotor-driven ammunition belt propelling mechanism which is adapted tobe disposed adjacent the usual ammunition feedway portion of a machine gun or the like for elevating and propelling the usual belt of linked ammunition, as indicated'at iii-(Fig. 3) toward 'the'feedway portof the gun. The ammunition helt'ls'illustrated ascomprising'a series of car-' fridges l2 arranged in side-hy-side relation and means'of links N (Fig. 2);

' "The feed assist mechanism is arranged to drivethe cartridge belt l0 in a direction from right to' left as viewed-in Fig. 3; and thus it will be underrelation by stood that the cartridge belt will he arranged'to train from the ammunition. magazine ;.(not

the associated gun will be located generally adhaunt the .lefthand sideportion of the feed as sist mechanism. p V H Y The feed :assist mechanism is illustrated as comprising a cartrldgebelt guide or throat, portion I6 whichis rectansularly tubular to accom-v inodatethe cartridgebelt l0, so as to he -continu *ously freely slidable therethrough. Bracket pop. tions 7 l81l'l extend at oppositesides of the throat v l8. and intermediately of its length to providel suitable bearing portions to rotatably support a pair of transverse-shafts -22 arranged in -.parailel relation above and below the throatpor a tion 1| 6, respectively. Bushings 22 are provided 20 to reduce shaft rotation friction efiects.

shaft 20 mounts in keyed relation thereon spaced large and small sprocket wheels .2l-25-respec,-,. tively, to engage at their toothed portions successive cartridges of the cartridge belt as it feeds the sprockets 2l2li-are formed soas tocomplement thesmallerandlarger diameter portions of the successive cartridges, as illustrated in Fla 2. The shaft 22 mounts asimi'lar pair of large and smallssprocket wheels 2li--2| which arearranged 28-21111 geared/relation therebetween. v,

The shaft 22 extends at one'of its ends beyond the corresponding bearingblock portion of the device to engage in keyed relation with the inner-end of a clock-type spring 20. For this run.

/ v 40'" pose th shaft 22 may be conveniently'angiflarly The drawings illustrate the invention as comsectioned, as indieated at 22 so as to be adapted to engage in keyed relation'with a similarly sec:

5 rice in keyed relation thereon a "spur gear .374

which meshes 'with'asimilar spur gear 35keyed to an extending end ortion of the shaft 20.

Thus, .it will he understood that whenever the coil spring 30 is tensioned to provide torque forces relative to theaxis of the'shaft 22, the torque forces will he transmittedv simultaneously to the shaft '20. I a r I A housing portion Ill extends longitudinally of the shaft 22 to provide a tubular bracket device for supporting an electric motor 'housinglli when tion device 44, whereby the motor 42 may be read- I ily assembled or disassembled relative to the remainder of the mechanism. The motor 42 carries an extending shaft portion 46 which is. keyed to a flange 48 by means of a pin 49. The flange is formed with a peripheral shell portion 50 encompassing the clock spring 30. The shell 50 is perforated as at 52 (Fig. 4) to receive an out-j turned end portion of the clock spring 30, whereby the latter is keyed to the flange l8. Consequently, it will be understood that when the motor l8 42 operates to rotate the shell 50, the clock spring III will thereby be tensioned to transmit the torque of the motor to the sprocket shafts -22 for driving the cartridge engaging sprocket wheels thereof in opposite directions to propel the carso tridge belttoward the position of the gun.

The motor 42 is arranged-to be controlled by an automatic switch mechanism, and it will be understood that the power supply circuitof the motor will be connected to any suitable-power as source such as a'storage battery .or the like. as

may be preferred. Themotorcontrol mechanism 1 includes a micrometer switch illustrated at 54 as being mounted upon the upper portion of the throat-structure IO; and the actuating finger 34) element of the-"switch 54 is indicated at 58 as being inalignmentwith'the extending end portion of a-screw B8 threaded through a side arm portion ill ofa tubular casing 02. The casing 82 3) about the shaft 20 response to the forces applied bythe cartridge belt against the roller 80, whereby the ,casing 62 will be forced to move telescopically over the stem 0| against the action of the spring 10. Finally, the screw ll will come into contact with the micrometer switch actuating element 50 to actuate the latter in such manner as to close the power supply circuit ofthe motor 42. Thus, the'motor will be energized to tension the clock spring and the sprocket wheels 2l-2526-2l will be driven thereby in such direction as to propel the cartridge belt lilto move toward the machine gun, thus relieving the feed pawl mechanism of the gun per se of the loads incidental to lifting the ammunition belt to the elevation of the gun and accelerating the speed of ammunition belt move- 'ment upon commencement of each gun firing operation. V

Upon cessation of the gun firing operation, the.

portion of the cartridgebelt disposed between the region of thegun and the ammunition feed assist mechanism :will become relaxed, whereby the roller end portion of the bell crank and lever unitwill be permitted to lower and the bell crank will be permitted to rotate in counterclockwise direction as ,viewed in Fig. 3 in response to the action of the spring 10. Consequently, the contact finger portion 58. of the micrometer switch actuating mechanism will withdraw from operative contact with the micrometer switch element.

56, and the power supply circuit to the motor will thereby be opened.

Due to thefact that a machine gun starts and istelescopicallymounted upon a stem 84 which is stops its firing operations with extreme suddenin' turn pivotally connectedby means of a pin 08 to' an upstanding bracket portion ll of the feed throat structure so that the stem portion 84 extends into an open end of the casing 32 to bear against a compression spring" disposed within the casing.: At its opposite end the casing 82 is carried by meansof a pivot pin connection device I2 upon an end portion of'a'forked bell crank 14 which rotatably mounts upon the sprocket shaft 20 by means of a pair of bushings 18-16 to straddle a ratchet gear ll-which is keyed to the shaft 2| midway of the positions of the sprocket wheels 2l2l'thereon. At its opposite end por tion', the bell crank 14 mounts by means of a pivot pin a U shaped ratchet pawl 82, and a coil spring 84 is mounted thereon so as to urge the pawl 82 at all times to move into meshed enga ement with the ratchet II.

A pair of crank arm portions 86-" are formed to extend from the ratchet pawl 82 and diametrically opposite thereto to carry a lever 81 thereon by means of a pivot connection 88 and a releasable clamp bolt and slot connection 89. A cartridge belt en aging roller "is carried by ness, the starting and stopping of'ieeding movements of the cartridge belt into the machine gun ammunition feed mechanism must also occur with extreme rapidity. Hence, for example whenever a firing operation ceases, feeding movement of the ammunition belt into the gun feed pawl mechanism is stopped with extreme suddennessl The micrometer switch actuating mechanismandthe sprocket wheel locking pawl 82 are thereupon.

the extra movement of the motor armature is' absorbed by the spring 20. and translated into further tensioning thereof. A ratchet O5 is pivotally I -mounted upon the'housing- "by means of a pin 98 and is elastically controlledby means oi'a spring 91 to engage a ratchet toothed-peripheral ortion 98 of the flange to prevent retrograde= rotation of the shell 5|) upon stoppage of the mothe'outer' end'of the lever-81: and it will be understood that the adjustable connection device I! will be arranged in'any given case in such manner that the roller 9" is dis osed to bear against the cartridge belt "I as it trains between the position of the ammunition feed assist device and the ammunition feedway portion of the gun.

Thus, it will be understood that whenever-the gun commences firing the cartrid e belt portion between the positions of the zun'and the. feed asslst'mechapism will be talltened to lift the leve arm device fl8fl'l wherebv t e ratchet pawl 82 will be swun away from en agement with the: ratchet 18. Simultaneously. the entire bell crank unit 14 will be rotated in clockwise directionil ig.

Consequently, the energy stored within the spring 30 incidental to each interruption of the a gun firing operation will be retained within the.

spring 30 pending. recommencement of gun firing.

Upon ,each recommencement of gun firing the" pawl 82 will be lifted as explained hereinabove by tightening of the cartridge belt between the positions oithe gun and of the feed assist mechanism; the sprocket wheels 25-26-21-28 will there- 1. upon be released, and the tension force within the spring 30 will thereby be enabled to drive the sprocket wheels in the direction of cartridge belt feeding. Thus, an initial driving of the sprocket wheels by the spring 30 will be provided instan- .taneously upon release oi the pawl "to meet the 2,342,055 initial ammunition feeding requirements of the gun. .'However, as explainedhereinabove, the bell crank mechanisms-will be simultaneously operated.

to:.-'actuatezthe motor control-switch 54 in such manner -as:to energize theimotor 42,. and, the latter will be accelerating simultaneously and comingsup to full speed as thee t thespring-Misbeing expended. V

:It will --be: understood that; the lever -81 may be adjusted by 1 means Lof' the. connection device: 8Q

toriextend fromthez-crankarm portions ';8ii.. 86

control switch 54 to energizethe motor 42, as

explained hereinabove. It will be understood that the motor 42 will be selected to possess such power.-

and'speed characteristics that the sprocket wheels will be driven thereby at speeds commensurate with the cartridge belt feed requirements of the associated gun; or in the alternative, the motorsprocket mechanism-will be designed to drive the sprocket wheels at speeds-slightly in excess of speeds commensurate with the gun feeding requirements. In the latter case the speed diflerential .will be translated into intermittent storage of over runni'ng action within the elastic coupling spring 3|! and slackening of the cartridge belt between the position of the feed assist mechanism and the position of the gun ammunition feedway whereby the drive motor operation will be intermittent but always in full accord with the ammunition feed requirements of the gun.

Thus, it will be appreciated that the ammunition feed assist mechanism of the invention comprises a self-contained device of structurally simple and rugged form and which is in the nature of an accessory unit adapted to be conveniently disposed adjacent an automatic gun and to function automatically in accord withv the gun ammunition feed requirements to elevate the gun teed ammunition to the region of the gun, as from a magazine or the like at a position remote from the gun, and to accelerate the movement of the ammunition toward the gun upon commencement of each gun firing operation, in improved manner.

Although only one form of the invention has been shown and described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not so limited but that various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the. appended claims.

We claim:

1. An accessory device for use in conjunction with a machine gun or the like for motivating linked ammunition rounds into the region of the gun, comprising in combination, a base, a rounds engaging member mounted upon said base and movable to propel a belt of linked rounds, motor means, tensionable elastic coupling means interconnecting said rounds engaging member and said motor means, a stop member carried by said base, means normally biasing said stop member so as to engage and stop said rounds engaging ra tensioning, of

v 8 -inember and movable to release said rounds en gaging member, means connected to said stop member .and adapted to engage the ammunition belt between the positions of the gun and'of saidaccessory device for'moving said stop member between "stop andrelease positions in responseto alternate slackening-land tightening of said ammunition'belt portion, and motor control means connected to said stop' member andoperable in 10 response to movement thereof to control operation of said motor means.

2. An accessory device for use with'a machine gun or" the like for motivating linked'ammunition rounds'into the region of the gun, comprising in combination, a throat device adapted to guide a belt of ammunition in sliding relation therethrough, a sprocket rotatably mounted upon said throat device forengaging the cartridge belt in geared relation, an elastic coupling connected to said sprocket, motor means connected -to said coupling for driving said sprocket therethrough, a ratchet-pawl device mounted in connection with said sprocket and normallybiased to .stop ammunition belt'propolling movement thereof, lever means plvotallyi mounted'upon said device and having an end a portion arranged to bear against'the cartridge belt between the position of said accessory-device and of the gun and being pivotablein response to tightening of said ammunition belt to disengage said ratchet-pawl device and to simultaneously control said motor means so as to become operative. r 3. An ammunition feed device comprising a self-contained mechanism adapted to be employed adjacent the ammunition ieedway of a machine gun or the like for substantially relieving the ammunition feed mechanism of the gun of loads incidental to elevating and/or motivat- 40 ing the feed ammunition to the region of the gun from position remotely therefrom and of the loads incidental to accelerating said feed ammunition movement incidental to commencement of each gun firing operation, said teed device comprising guiding the belt of linked ammunition in sliding relation therethrough, a sprocket rotatably mounted upon said frame to engage said ammunition belt in geared relation, a tensionabie coil spring coupled at one end to said sprocket, motor means coupled to the other end or said spring (or ratchet means and having ammuniiton belt bearing means adapted to engage against the ammunition belt between the positions of said feed device and the associated gun, said crank means being arranged to be actuated upon tensioning of that portion oi the ammunition belt bearing against said crank means to release. said first mentioned ratchet means, motor control switch means mounted upon said frame and arranged to be actuated by movement of said crank memher in ratchet release direction for energizing said motor means, and spring means associated 75 with said crank member for returning the latter in conjunctiona frame having an opening therethrough for 4- meiaQoea to mom-mowed and mchci: domed poution up n slackenln: oi. the ammunition belt in the; union or said crank. bearing; means 4; An ammunition feed device comprisinz, a frame having an opening thercthrwsh. for gum, in: a helt1o1 linked .ammunitionelidinrthere through, a member movably mounted upon aid frame. to ensue said ammunition beltin ice-red:

I relation, a tcnsioneble spring oouplco at; one

to said member, motor. meanscoupled to the; other end or said snrins when!! acid. aprinzcomprises anelastic drive coupling device, ratchet means. associatedwith seid member premix movement: flier-e01v in, ammunition belt. teed dinetion, ratchet meansnssociamd with said motor to prevent. reverse operation otgthc latter mmmediately oiammunition belt. crank -mean s1,c0.up1edt0 amid mat mentioned ratchet. means and. hem: belt ins, means adapted, to ensue; unmet. ammunition belt es,- it. issues irom; teed device, said crank being; arrangedto be ectuatedfupon temioninz or the issuing portion or the ammunition hell; to release. said} first moniioneo ratchet; means, motor control meansmounted. aid name and arranged to be actuated by move, ment. or said crank member in ratchet release vice to: M aid cnnk member to: m- 

